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In the latest sign that all press is good press, Leon Stafford of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Chick-fil-A's sales soared 12 percent, to $4.6 billion, in 2012. The good fortune follows several years of impressive expansion and strong sales, which have pushed the privately-held company's valuation north of $4.5 billion, making billionaires out of its founders.

Chick-fil-A caught a great deal of flak throughout the year after its president Dan Cathy came out against gay marriage and in support of the "biblical definition of the family unit." Gay rights activists staged protests at locations around the country, and some even called for a boycott of the brand.